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Daring us to copy Kenyan Gen Z demos is a tall order
Mr Bob Bayo. Photo/Courtesy
What you need to know:
- If the elite indeed want us to follow the Kenyan Gen Z to the streets, let them lead the way and we shall follow. Until then, we shall continue tweeting away the viruses eating Uganda up.
In recent weeks, Kenyan youth marched on the streets of the capital Nairobi to express their displeasure at the Finance Bill 2024, which was passed by the Kenyan parliament and later rejected by Kenyan president William Ruto. The original Bill sought to hike taxes on mobile money transfers, cars, and bread, among other commodities. The mass protests attracted widespread support from all corners of the world.
This demonstration of utter resolve has left many influential Ugandans on social media, especially X (formerly Twitter) wondering why Ugandan Gen Z – people born between 1997 and 2012 – can’t follow their Kenyan counterparts to the streets following many graver pains that the Ugandan government has dealt to the citizenry.
Much as the events in Kenya have inspired many of us, we might not take to the streets anytime soon. Recent history shows that protests in Uganda end with scores of protesters losing their lives, sustaining grave injuries, or ending up in detention for years.
A case in point is November 18, 2020. Security forces shot dead and wounded dozens of people, mostly the youth, who were protesting against the arrest of NUP presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, at the height of the presidential campaigns. Their families have yet to receive justice. The offenders have not been brought to book either. Similarly, the heavy-handed treatment of former FDC president Kizza Besigye on numerous occasions, best exemplified by his near-death experience during the fierce walk-to-work protests in 2011, does not help to bait us onto the streets of Kampala either.
There is a bigger reason for our reluctance still. The state institutions in Kenya, unlike in Uganda, work with little or no undue influence from any side and this fuels the Gen Z to protest boldly. A video, recently shared on X, showing a young woman making her case to Kenyan police officers suffices to prove this point. Any attempt to do something similar in Uganda would most likely leave you limbless. The Kenyan youth also know that the state institutions would follow the right processes in the event that they are detained since their constitution grants citizens the right to demonstrate.
Although the same provision exists in our Constitution, it has not been enjoyed by dissenting Ugandans in recent times. In Uganda, attempting to do half of what the Kenyan Gen Z are doing without being arrested, bundled into a police truck and held incommunicado only to appear in court, perhaps with a bruised body, is squaring the circle.
Some of the loudest in daring the youth to follow the example of their Kenyan counterparts are either retired army officers or politicians and political commentators. It is regrettable that they are goading us to “shutdown” Kampala yet they contributed immensely to putting us in the situation we presently find ourselves in. The less said about the role the said quarters have played in putting us in this situation, the better.
Since many of us are not about to take to the streets anytime soon, we are putting to use the weapons at our disposal. Social media activism has proved to be a potent tool in reshaping the political order in Uganda and beyond.
Organised expression of displeasure and anger on social media led by Mr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, Ms Agatha Atuhaire, Mr Godwin Toko and other figures has recently compelled many people in positions of power to act.
After the famed #UgandaPotholesExhibition, the President ordered the release of Shs6 billion to fix the potholes in Kampala. Similarly, the #UgandaParliamentExhibition has continued to cause many heads to roll and allegedly forced many MPs to shun the budget reading at Kololo for fear of arrests.
If the elite indeed want us to follow the Kenyan Gen Z to the streets, let them lead the way and we shall follow. Until then, we shall continue tweeting away the viruses eating Uganda up.
The writer is a psychologist with a keen interest in social issues, @Bayo_FB
